But while Aldi has come out as top dog on key perception metrics, other supermarkets have a growing distrust problem, Levine said.

“To rise to meet the challenge presented by Aldi, and other newer entrants into grocery category such as Amazon Fresh, Costco and Kaufland, traditional market leaders Coles and Woolworths need to develop strategies to reduce their growing levels of distrust,” she explained.

Roy Morgan said distrust was driven by perceptions about greed, dishonesty and deceitful business practices, while trust was defined by reliability, customer focuses and knowledgeable staff.

She noted that distrust can trigger customer churn, kill customer and supplier engagement, can cause reputational damage and is a bellwether for an unsustainable future.